Accreditation

Skagit Land Trust and Land Trust Accreditation

The Land Trust Accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Skagit Land Trust was one of the first accredited land trusts in 2009 and was awarded renewed accreditation in 2015. Read the 2015 press release .

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. National accreditation is the result of a rigorous independent analysis of Skagit Land Trust's programs and practices. Accredited land trusts are able to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. The seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation.

The accreditation seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation. Because the seal is a registered trademark of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, the Commission licenses the use of the seal to land trusts only after a rigorous process to verify the organizations meets national standards. The seal identifies land trusts that are accredited and meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent.

ExcellenceAccredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. These land trusts demonstrate their commitment to excellence by adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices, the ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust, and meeting the accreditation requirements drawn from them.

TrustNonprofit organizations, including land trusts, are increasingly called on to demonstrate their accountability to the public. Accredited land trusts have voluntarily submitted their organizations to an external, independent review of their practices. As a result, accreditation provides the public with the assurance that the land trust displaying the accreditation seal meets established standards for organizational quality and permanent land conservation.

PermanenceLand trusts help conserve land that is essential to our health and well-being. When land trusts agree to protect land for the benefit of the public, in most cases they do so by promising that the protection is forever. The accreditation program verifies that the land trust has the policies and programs in place to keep this promise, either by caring for the land itself or transferring the land to an entity that can.